Method and device to prohibit communications which require active participation by the driver of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

Operating a vehicle while texting, using applications or using a mobile device has been shown to be very dangerous and increase the likelihood of accidents. An exemplary embodiment relates to a method, techniques and a system that can prohibit the use of a mobile device by the driver while driving. An exemplary embodiment relates to the fields of communications and control and combines the use of social media and smartphones to create methods to prohibit the use of specific communications on the mobile device including but not limited to texting, etc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/015,050 filed Jun. 20,2014, entitled “Method and Device to Prohibit Texting While Operating aVehicle”, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Operating a vehicle while texting, using applications or using a mobiledevice has been shown to be very dangerous and increase the likelihoodof accidents. An exemplary embodiment relates to a method, techniquesand a system that can prohibit the use of a mobile device by the driverwhile driving. An exemplary embodiment relates to the fields ofcommunications and control and combines the use of social media andsmartphones to create methods to prohibit the use of specificcommunications on the mobile device including but not limited totexting, etc.

BACKGROUND Mobile Devices Controlling Devices

Mobile devices are ubiquitous. They are used for voice communications aswell as textual communications such as texts, emails and other writtencommunications through social networking sites (such as Facebook®,Twitter®, LinkedIn®), etc. In this disclosure “mobile device” we meanall devices that can communicate via cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth® orother communications and are portable, including but not limited to cellphones, smart phones, tablets, wearables, etc. These devices are usedfor both communications and entertainment purposes. Mobile devices forthe purposes of this disclosure also include wearable devices such aswatches or articles of clothing or Fitbit® and other exercise monitoringdevices that have connectivity and processing capabilities. In exerciseapplications, software is used in watches and devices, such as Fitbits®,to keep track of miles walked or run, speed of walking or running,elevation, etc. These devices are also used for other activities such asbiking or skiing. A digital watch for example could be used to open thecar, and start the engine, etc., or be used to control things other thancars.

Communications include making pa hone call (cellular or using voice overIP, like Skype® or Facetime®), sending/receiving texts, posting tosocial media sites (such as Facebook® or LinkedIn®), etc. Entertainmentincludes, for example, listening to music, looking at photos, watchingvideos or surfing the Internet, or the like—navigation can alsogenerally be included in this entertainment category.

It is important to limit some of these capabilities while driving butnot necessarily all. In general, an exemplary embodiment is directedtoward limiting any activity that requires active participation from thedriver. So, listening to music, which is “passive”—i.e., does notinvolve participation from the driver (as opposed to “active”—which doesrequire participation from the driver) is ok, in the sense that itdoesn't distract a driver as much. Anything involving typing isespecially distracting and is considered active. This is why, forexample, many GPS systems won't let you input addresses (by typing themin) when you are driving. However GPS can also be passive, after youinput the address, and it is important since it is very useful to thedriver. So a GPS giving instructions should not be disabled. Voice callsare allowable, since the participation by the driver is speaking only(does not involve typing or even looking at the phone) and therefore heor she can continue to watch the road.

Mobile devices are also becoming increasingly used for automation andcontrol applications, such as for controlling televisions and otherelectronics (acting as a remote control) or controlling home devicessuch as lights, air conditioning, opening and closing doors, etc. Mobiledevices are also being used to start a car or open the doors or windowsin a car remotely. We will refer to the device being controlled (i.e.,the TV, other electronic device, car, other vehicle, etc.) as the“control device.” In this description, the phone/mobile device can bethe “controlling device.” Note that the control device may be the entiredevice that is being controlled and/or a hardware and/or software modulethat is integrated into the entire device that is capable of controllingthe device. For example, a hardware module that connects to the carstarter/ignition (either through a wired or wireless connection) is the“control device” for that car for the purposes of starting the car.Mobile phones as controlling devices are becoming more and more popular,since everyone now uses mobile devices that have extensive functionality(in terms of computational capability and flexibility of use throughsoftware) and can support additional features easily.

An example of a mobile phone as a controlling device for a car is thefollowing. Mobile devices can be used today to start and control insidefeatures of vehicles before or as an alternative to a real key beingpresent. Note that some auto starters have time limits so that the carautomatically turns off if the real key is not presented within acertain time period. This requires a combination of new hardware intoday's vehicles that (i) connect the vehicle to the Internet or to acellular network and (ii) connect to the starter of the vehicle. If oneof these devices is installed in the vehicle, a text message can be sentfrom the mobile device to the vehicle to start the vehicle. This can bedone from anywhere, since the mobile device and the vehicle can beconnected via the Internet or via a cellular network. So, for example,someone could start their car in NY while on their phone in SanFrancisco as long as both their car and phone are either on the samecellular network or both connected to the Internet. An example of such adevice is sold by Connect2Car (see connect2car.com as of Jun. 14, 2014).This device enables communications with a car either via a cellular link(such as GSM) or via Bluetooth®.

A more elaborate example of the mobile device acting as a controllingdevice for a car is a solution like the Android Car and Car Play® (byApple®). With these software solutions, mobile devices control thedashboard of the car via the mobile device. These are software or apps(applications) that effectively turn the control of car functionalityover to the mobile device. Car functionality such as music choice andvolume, air conditioning, sunroof control, window control, etc. could beall controlled via software such as in a one or more apps.

Mobile devices can also be and are increasingly being used to controlthings other than cars. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emergingtechnology and industry that will allow any “thing” to be connected toand accessed via the internet or other communications networks. WithinIoT, mobile devices play a key controlling device role, since they canbe used to program, monitor, and receive information from the connectedthings. For example an app on a phone can be used to monitor a homesecurity camera that is connected to the Internet (the camera is the“thing”). With a typical app, the user can turn the camera on or off,ask the camera to send a recent photo or video, have the mobile phonereceive a photo or video if the camera so chooses, etc., i.e., the phoneis a controlling device that is being actively used for homesecurity/monitoring.

Cars as Connected Devices

There are an increasing number of communications chips being used incars today for multiple purposes. For the purposes of this description,a car can be any vehicle, including buses, trains, motorcycles, etc.

Cars are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their level ofconnectivity to communications networks. Many cars today have cellularconnectivity capability (e.g., a cellular transceiver chip that isdedicated to the car) that can then be used for communication to andfrom the car itself (for safety purposes, for example), for GPS in thecar, or as a hotspot for Wi-Fi access for occupants in the car. Many ofthe “things” in the car are or will become connected as well, such asradios, and even seats or gas tanks. Anything where information would beuseful to the car owner or manufacturer can be easily connected via anIoT applications. As an example, a car in an accident can notify a thirdparty (e.g. police, roadside service company, etc.) via a communicationslink initiated by the car (as opposed to the driver), its location andstatus. As another example, one could see how much gas is in their tankby looking at their smartphone if the tank had a IoT chip—and could knowwhether they needs to plan a trip to the gas station before getting inthe car and looking at the gas gauge. Seat sensors (via IoTcommunications) would be used to see how many people are in a car at acertain time, in case of accident to know how many occupants wereinvolved in the incident.

In the near future, cars are going to have Wi-Fi transceivers that areused primarily for safety and control purposes. For the purpose of thisinvention, we will call these “safety Wi-Fi links”. The devices thatproduce these links will be in each car (and in other locations) andprovide a means for cars to communicate with one another to determineproximity to one another or to incidents on the road (accidents, roadwork, etc.) Safety Wi-Fi links are not used for the occupants tocommunicate content generated by them, but instead are used by the carsthemselves for safety and control reasons. IEEE 802.11p is an example ofsuch a technology, as is LTE direct. Both of these technologies have areach (i.e., they can communicate within a range) of about 300 metersand allow for cars to “see” things (using radio waves) that cannot beseen with the sensors they often use that are based on line of sightvision (such as cameras installed on bumpers, etc.). Since radio wavescan propagate through objects, these wireless signals can “see” thingsthat are beyond the car in front or the object to the car's right orleft. It can provide an indication of the presence of another suchcommunications device within an allowed distance and therefore provide a“landscape” of objects that are close to the car. Self-driving cars andauto-stopping are some of the emerging uses of this technology in carstoday. In summary, for the purpose of this disclosure, cars are becominghomes for multiple communications chips that are dedicated to the carfunctionality.

In general, cars can independently connect to other cars or otherdevices such as mobile devices.

Limiting the Use of Cell Phones in Cars

It is desirable to limit the use of mobile devices in cars for safetyreasons. There are laws that outlaw the use of phones for texting, butthere effect has been limited. The primary problem is that while mostpeople can't text and drive—they think they can. And thereforeapproaches that try to convince people otherwise (with advertisementsand training classes and driver's education) have met limited success.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment at least provides a method of discouraging andultimately prohibiting the use of communications that require activeparticipation by a user by disabling other functions that are of use tothe driver. The exemplary steps involved include:

-   A. Determining one or more properties/characteristics of a mobile    device to establish that the mobile device is in the hands of a    driver or that it is located within a car.-   B. Disabling and confirming that a user (typically a driver in our    description, but it could be any user) has disabled communications    that would require active participation. These communications are    typically controlled by the mobile device user and therefore cannot    be disabled by anyone but the mobile device user. A typical example    of this is texting by a driver on a phone he owns.

In an exemplary embodiment, steps A and B often both occur. However,sometimes B occurs without A, as described below, or A is detected by athird party.

Subsequent to A and/or B, two scenarios exist, called C and D. C and/orD depend upon confirmation that B communications have been disabled.

-   C. Allowing communications and control functions that involve    communications or controls initiated by the car to be enabled only    if B has been confirmed. Note that the communications that are    disabled are not in the control of the mobile phone user and    therefore can be disabled without consent of the user. An example of    this is the hotspot availability of Wi-Fi in a car is disabled    unless the car confirms that B has occurred.-   D. Allowing communications and control functions that involve using    the mobile device as a controlling device (either to control the car    or to control something else) to be enabled only if B has been    confirmed. For example, using a mobile phone to control the    dashboard in the car (like in Car Play® by Apple®) is only allowed    if B has been confirmed. Another example is that the mobile device    cannot be used to control home automation or monitor exercise unless    B has been confirmed.

The above steps (A and/or B, then C and/or D) are such that if thedriver does not disable communications in B, then functionalities asdescribed for example in C and/or D are disabled. As long as themonitoring A and B can be effectively executed, and as long as examplefunctionality such as that described in C and/or D is willing to bedisabled as long as B is not confirmed, this technique will motivate andpotentially force the driver to disable communications in B.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made tothe following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an example of a controlling device being allowed or deniedaccess to a control device;

FIG. 2 is an example of a control device requiring confirmation of acertain condition prior to granting control to a controlling device;

FIG. 3 is a depiction of the functionality that supports determiningthat an “A event” has occurred;

FIG. 4 shows the functionality that supports determining and exchanginginformation regarding the status of “B communications”; and

FIG. 5 show the improvements enabled by the techniques disclosed hereinfor use of a phone in conjunction with remote operations of a car.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this section we describe the steps A, B, C and D in more detail.

Exemplary “A properties”, i.e., properties/characteristics of a mobiledevice can include:

-   A speed at which a mobile device is traveling. Calculating this    speed can be determined by calculating the time between GPS    readings, or by using an accelerometer within the mobile device, or    in other ways. This can determine that the device is moving, but it    may not be in a car necessarily, and it may be in the hands of    someone other than the driver.-   The distance from the mobile device and another device in or on the    car. Calculating the distance between the mobile device and another    known location (e.g., a steering wheel, a seat, a silicon device in    a steering wheel or seat or the radio, a cellular chip inside a car,    a Wi-Fi chip inside a car, an Internet of Things chip) can be    determined from measuring the strength of a signal at one of the    devices (given that the transmit power is known, the distance can    then be calculated) or by any other means by which the distance can    be calculated. For example, by measuring the distance between a GPS    chip in the mobile device and a second GPS chip in a known location    the car. With distance measurements and location estimations, it is    possible to determine whether the mobile device is located in the    car and where it is located in the car (and therefore whether it is    in driver's hands), but it may not be moving.-   An indication of the presence of another device by the mobile device    or an indication of the presence of the mobile device by another    device. Detecting the presence of a device with respect to another    device can be done in numerous ways. For example, a mobile device    could detect that it is in the presence of the IoT in a seat and    thus is it determined that the driver is in the seat. Or that it is    in the presence of an 802.11p device (of a car that belongs to the    owner of the mobile device). Or it detects another IoT chip in the    car with which it communicates using NFC (near field    communications—such as that used in Apple Pay) or Bluetooth® (or any    other communications technology which has limited distance and    therefore the two devices have to be close to one another to detect    one another.) This presence could be detected by observing the    signal from the other device (i.e., the mobile phone could detect    the signal transmitted by the IoT chip or the cellular chip in the    car or the 802.11p chip in the car). This observation will typically    involve receiving the signal and may also involve interpreting the    signal to determine where it is from. Alternatively, it could be    determined just be detecting a certain power level in a certain    frequency band. The indication of presence could also go in the    other direction, i.e., the car could detect the presence of the    mobile device (this has the benefit that it only occurs when the car    is on). In this case, the car IoT chip, or cellular chip or 802.11p    chip detects that the mobile phone is present. With this “radio    detection” (i.e., detection of radio waves) the system can determine    that the mobile device is in or close to the car. The mobile device    or device within the car (or any third party device) could also    detect types of wireless signals to determine that the mobile device    is in a car. For example, LTE uses multicarrier communications,    which have certain spectral properties and peak-to-average    properties that can be detected and used to determine that an LTE    signal is nearby. Similarly, Safety Wi-Fi links use specific    communications protocols and modulations that be detected. If both    LTE and Safety Wi-Fi are detected simultaneously, this could    determine that a phone and Safety Wi-Fi link are near one another.-   Identifying the owner of the device. Cell phones are registered with    phone companies and the owner must provide information about his/her    identity when purchasing the phone. Therefore each phone is    associated with a person. This is a known characteristic which could    be combined with, for example, knowledge that a certain car is owned    by the same person. In the event that the car and the phone are in    the same location (determined, e.g., by GPS in each device—i.e., the    car and the phone) then it is assumed that the owner of both is with    his phone and driving his car. This could also be determined by    detecting the presence of the cell phone signal by the car or of the    car by the cell phone.

Combinations of two or more of the above are also considered Aproperties. It may be useful to combine one or more of the above inorder to determine that the mobile device is in the hands of a driver.For example:

-   the mobile device is moving and the device is detecting a Wi-Fi    Safety link signal from a vehicle owned by the owner of the mobile    device.-   The mobile device is close to a known location in the vehicle and    the mobile device detects a Safety Wi-Fi signal from the vehicle    owned by the owner of the mobile device (note that the Safety Wi-Fi    link is only ON when the vehicle is running).

An “A event” occurs when we determine that the mobile device is in thehands of a driver. This determination can be done by the mobile deviceitself, or by a third party device, such as by a device in a car. Thisinformation can then be stored within the mobile device or third partydevice. For example, an app could collect data within the phone of allthe possible scenarios that would trigger an event A having occurred andnote that this has happened. This app can be referred to as the ABDapp—and more specifically an “event A flag” in the app. Alternatively,an app or software program within a third party device (such as a chipin the Safety Wi-Fi communications link in a car) could determine that amobile device is in the hands of a driver in the car and store and log(or store) that an “A event” has occurred. This app (or software) can bereferred to as the ABC app and event A would be logged therein.

Discussion of the ABD app and ABC app are further discussed below.

Exemplary “B communications”, i.e., communications that should bedisabled if an event A occurs;

-   Texting, either sending or receiving-   Typing in internet addresses in a browser-   Writing or reading emails-   Posting to social network sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn.-   Looking at Facebook®-   Sending a Twitter® message-   Receiving a tweet from Twitter®-   Typing an address in a GPS app-   Using the keypad of the phone in any way-   Connecting the phone to a Wi-Fi hotspot in the car

These are functions that are typically controlled entirely by the userand cannot be automatically turned off in the event that an event A isdetected. One of the reasons for this is that a user owns their phoneand pays for plans to use them for talking and texting. The serviceprovider cannot disable this service without a user's consent. For thisreason, one needs to actively disable texting (or any similarcommunications) by the user's own choice. Alternatively, there could bea software program that the user would authorize that would disable Bcommunications when an A event is detected by the mobile device. Again,this is up to the user, since they would have to enable and allow thefunction to be performed by the app.

For step B, the ABD or ABC app could collect data within the mobiledevice or from the mobile device that the user has disabled texting, orexited Facebook®, etc. or disabled the keyboard, or disabled Wi-Fi andstore that within the app. This could be referred to as an “event Bconfirmed” within the ABC or ABD app. When event B is confirmed it meansthat B communications are disabled. IF event B is not confirmed (whichcould also mean that no information is provided about B communications)then B communications are not disabled.

Exemplary “C functions” which are examples of communications and controlfunctionality that are initiated by the car, include:

-   Use of the car's safety Wi-Fi link. i.e., if B communications are    not confirmed OFF, then the Wi-Fi safety link is not enabled and the    car warns the driver that car safety Wi-Fi link is not on because B    communications are not disabled. (this could also allow insurers to    determine that texting had not been disabled and therefore liability    for accidents could be influenced).-   Allowing other users in the car to use the car's cellular connection    as a HotSpot.-   Starting a car (by communicating from the mobile device to the car    via dedicated signal or via a network connection using a text or an    app, etc.)-   Allowing the user to connect to Applecar® or android car (i.e.    functionality that is in the car entertainment and control systems    that are controlled by the user).-   Allowing the car engine to remain running-   Opening doors, trunk-   Turning on lights-   Opening sunroof-   Using the mobile device to control the radio or audio in the car-   Allowing the mobile device to connect via Bluetooth to the car's    Bluetooth-   Any action where some function associated with the car is controlled    by the phone.

Exemplary “D function” uses of the mobile device as a controllingdevice:

-   Using the mobile device to control home automation-   Using the mobile device to measure exercise and fitness information-   Any use of the mobile device to control a third party device

Establishing that a B event has occurred is an important aspect of oneexemplary embodiment. This involves establishing the means by which itis confirmed that B communications have been disabled. This informationis important to the mobile device itself in the event that the ABD appis being run, since for D functions to be allowed, B communications mustbe confirmed to be disabled. It is also important for the ABC app, sincefor C functions to be allowed, the car must determine that Bcommunications have been disabled.

For the situation where D functions (i.e. subsequent functions to beperformed by the mobile device itself) requires confirmation that Bcommunications are disabled, then the mobile device can store a “Bcommunications disabled” message in a way that it can be confirmed bythe D functions. This confirmation could be achieved by any form ofinternal communication within the mobile device, or by using common orknown storage locations within the mobile device that the B statusinformation can be stored in and the D function can access to determinethe B status.

For the situation where a C function (something to be performed by thecar—or in general by any third party device) requires confirmation thatB communications are disabled, the simplest means is for the device inthe car (i.e. the device that is going to be used for the C function) tosend a text to the mobile device requesting B communication status. Themobile device then responds with a B communications status message(e.g., with a confirmation message or an automated reply message) with amessage that states that that texting has been disabled. This replymessage serves as confirmation that the B communications are disabled.This could for certain C functions be done periodically (every 10minutes, e.g., to discourage turning texting off and then on again).Each device that is to be used to provide C communications would firstestablish that B Communications have been disabled this way. Other waysthat confirmation that B communications have been disabled include:

-   A handshake takes place between the mobile phone and the device    whereby the device (e.g. the car's cellular chip or the car's Safety    Wi-Fi link) initiates a message (e.g., a text) and waits for a reply    from the cellular device that states that the cellular device has    disabled texting. Texts can be sent over cellular networks or over    Wi-Fi links, so this handshake can take place e.g. (i) with a    cellular link between the car cellular chip and the mobile phone and    text messages or (ii) with a Wi-Fi link between the Safety Wi-Fi    chip and the mobile phone using texting over Wi-Fi messages.

If confirmation that B communications have been disabled is not made,then the C functions are not enabled. In addition to not enabling Cfunctions, other activities or functions can be enabled as well. Forexample, if the Safety Wi-Fi Link tries to handshake with the mobiledevice and does not receive a confirmation that texting is disabled, itcan indicate to the driver that it will not enable safety modesavailable via the Safety Wi-Fi link until texting is disabled, or itcould sound an alarm (similar to the sound when seatbelts are notengaged) until texting is disabled. Similarly this could happen if theCar's cellular link does not receive a satisfactory response. Inaddition to disabling any C functions that are within the car's cellularchip control (e.g. Wi-Fi hotspotting for car occupants) it could send amessage to the car to engage an alarm until texting is disabled. In allof the previous comments, the example was described for disablingtexting, but the same would hold true for any B communications (such astweeting, facebook posts, etc.).

One of the key elements of an exemplary aspect is that the informationin A and B are stored so that past behavior is used to determine whetherC functions or D functions will be allowed. In other words if A isdetermined, this information is stored in the phone or is stored in thethird party device that determined A. If B has not been disabled, thistoo is stored in the phone or in the third party device (once learnedfrom the phone). This information can then be used later to determinewhether C or D functions will be allowed. For example:

-   1) An event A is determined by detecting that a cellphone is in    close proximity to a Safety Wi-Fi Link of a car owned by the owner    of the mobile phone (shown as 101 in FIG. 1)-   2) Phone may also determine that “event A has occurred” through any    of the means described above. In this case, it may provide this    information to the car, through link 102 shown in FIG. 1.-   3) Car notes that “event A has occurred”.-   4) If B communications are disabled, a message that “texting has    been disabled” is also stored in the phone.-   5) Car's cellular link is asked to provide a hotspot to car    occupants. Car notes that event A has occurred and Car's cellular    chip handshakes with Phone (shown as link 103 in FIG. 1). This    exchange can be via text message back or by accessing a message    stored in the phone that “texting has been disabled” or by any other    means that the car and the phone can exchange this information.-   6) Link 104 in FIG. 1 shows the status of B communications being    transmitted from the mobile device to the car.-   7) The car only allows C functions to operate, such as access for    hotspotting to other phones in the car, or safety features such as    autodriver or other car-to-car communications, if B communications    have been disabled. If no B message is found or received to confirm    that texting is disabled, messages are sent to occupants that B    communications have not been disabled and C functions such as    Hotspotting is not available because texting has not been disabled    on the driver's phone and/or an audible alarm goes off in the car.

An app that detects that an event A has occurred and stores theconfirmation that B has been disabled could be a source of informationfor C functions.

Another example of a series of steps (an ABC app example):

-   1) A mobile phone can be used a key for a car—the car e.g. can be    started by sending a text to the car's cellular chip.-   2) Car is requested to start by sending a text (201 in FIG. 2).-   3) Since the mobile device was used to request to start the car,    therefore the car automatically knows that the mobile device is    going to be in the car. The car therefore knows to request whether B    communications have been disabled. The Car cell chip (one of many    exemplary means for the car and mobile device to communicate) sends    a request for B status from car (this could be via text or via any    other communications link) as shown in 202 of FIG. 1. If it does not    receive a confirmation text back that texting is disabled, then it    turns off the car.-   4) Alternatively (not shown in FIG. 1) Event A could be detected    (i.e. the mobile phone is in the car) by the car. This could be done    because the phone touches a seat (and the seat and the phone both    have NFC or the steering wheel and the phone both have NFC or a    location close to the ignition switch and the phone both have NFC)    or because the phone detects the Safety Wi-Fi link from the car or    in a number of other ways that determine that the phone is in the    car.-   5) Mobile Device responds with B status as shown in 203 of FIG. 1.-   6) This repeats until texting is turned off, otherwise car will not    start or dashboard control will not be granted. Dashboard control    would include allowing a Bluetooth link between the phone and car in    order to listen to music. In this case, the phone tries to connect    (link) to the car via Bluetooth (for either phone operation or    listening to music), the car responds to this request by requesting    from the mobile device the status of its B communications (as    depicted in FIG. 4). Unless the car receives a confirmation that B    communications have been disabled, it does not allow the phone to    Bluetooth link to the car.

Another example of a series of steps (an ABD app example):

-   1) Mobile device detects that a signal originating from a car is    present. This is determined by one of more of (i) detecting a    specific type of radio wave signal, e.g. an 802.11p or LTE direct    signal or cellular signal that is generated by the car (and only    when the car is on) and (ii) recognizing that the specific radio    signal is from the car that is owned by (or desired to be driven by)    the mobile device owner (we call this “pairing” the mobile device to    the car).-   2) Mobile device instructs user to disable texting.-   3) User disables texting and mobile device stores/logs that texting    has been disabled-   4) If user does not disable texting, when subsequent functions to be    performed by the mobile device (“D functions” described above) are    not allowed.

Regarding how the car and the mobile phone can be paired—this can beaccomplished by determining that e.g., the VIN number (or some otheridentifying serial number) of the car is the same as the VIN number (orother identifying serial number) of the owner of the mobile device. If,e.g., the mobile device has a app that is used to control the car, thisapp can contain the serial number and therefor the phone knows what theserial number is. When it receives a signal from the car it compares theserial number in the message (we assume that there is an overheadmessage that identifies the car at some point in the communicationsprotocol) with the one it knows to be its own and pairs if they match.

FIG. 3 shows the improvements to a Mobile phone and a car/vehicle(examples of a controlling device and a control device, respectively)that are used to determine that an “A event” has occurred. In thisFigure, 301 is a controlling device (such as a mobile phone) and 304 iscontrol device (such as a car). Within each of these devices, there arethe following modules (implemented in software, hardware or acombination of both):

a. a wireless signal detector, shown as 302 within the mobile device and305 within the car. A wireless signal detector is used to detect aspecific wireless signal, such as an 802.11p signal or a cellular LTEsignal, or the like. Detection is accomplished by receiving and decodingthe wireless signal, or by detecting a signal with a specific carrierfrequency and spectral or peak to average properties.

b. A distance estimator, shown as 303 within the mobile device and 306within the car. Distance estimator 303 can determine the distancebetween the mobile phone and a known location by comparing its GPSlocation to that of the GPS location of the known location.Alternatively, the distance estimator can measure the strength of aknown wireless signal (e.g., a signal that is known to have beentransmitted at a certain power level from a known location—such as theSafety Wi-Fi link signal in a car) and from the strength of the signal,determine the distance from the transmitter.

Also shown in FIG. 3 is a communications link 307 between thecontrolling device and the control device. This can be any wirelesscommunications link, including Bluetooth®, NFC, cellular, Wi-Fi or othercommunications. This link is used to exchange information between themobile phone and the car, including wireless signal detector informationand distance estimator information. CPUs 308 and 309 are centralprocessing units within the mobile device and the car. Within the mobiledevice, CPU 308 communicates with the 302 and 303 blocks and can be usedfor storing, recalling and processing the information determined inblocks 302 or 303. Within the car, CPU 309 communicates with the 305 and306 blocks and can be used for storing, recalling and processing theinformation determined in blocks 305 or 306.

In FIG. 4, 401 depicts the controlling device and 404 depicts thecontrol device. Communications link 406 is any wireless communicationslink including Bluetooth, cellular or Wi-Fi communications, NFC or otherPAN communications. Within the mobile device, module 402 determines thestatus of B communications. This is determined by observing a statusregister in the phone, or by detecting a flag or indicator within memorythat states that the B communications are disabled. The mobile phonealso includes B communications status transmitter 403 that transmitsinformation regarding the B status either in response to a request orperiodically as a broadcast beacon. Within the control device, B statusreceiver 405 is used to receive the information transmitted from themobile device regarding the status of B communications within the mobiledevice. This information is exchanged over communications link 406 andtypically involves a handshake mechanism whereby 404 requests that 401provide its B status information, 403 transmits the information (whichit knows by observing 402) to receiver 405, which determines theinformation in the Interpreter in 407. 407 will also determine what todo if no signal is received by 405 in response to the request for asignal. Not depicted in FIG. 4 are CPU modules similar to those shown inFIG. 3. The CPU module connects to the Status Detector and Transmitterwithin the mobile device and the CPU module in the car connects to theStatus receiver and Interpreter. Information to and from blocks 402 and403 go through a CPU in the mobile device. Information to and fromblocks 405 and 407 go through a CPU in the car.

Communication Link Options Between the Mobile Device and the Car

A communications link between the mobile device and the car can be acellular (such as the Global System for Mobile Communications—GSM) orother wireless network offered by a service provider. It can also be alocal area network (LAN) such as Wi-Fi (including any of the versions of802.11, e.g. 802.11p, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ah, etc.) or personal areanetwork (PAN) using a communications technology such as Bluetooth orNear Field Communications (NFC), Wireless USB, Zigbee, Z-Wave or thelike. It can also be a radio frequency communication (RFID) link at anyof the frequencies that RFID links use. It can also be any combinationof the above, e.g. RFID and NFC or any other combination. Thecommunications links are depicted as 307 in FIG. 3 and 406 in FIG. 4.The purpose of this communications link is for the mobile device to beable to communicate with the car (or any control device within the car)and each to be able to send and receive commands to/from one another. Inaddition to establishing communications between the mobile device andthe car (or control device within the car) the two devices can also eachbe connected to the Internet. This connection to the Internet can eitherbe accomplished through the cellular signal (using e.g. a cellular dataconnectivity solution) or through a LAN (such as Wi-Fi) that isconnected to the Internet. By connecting to the Internet, each of manycontrol devices can be communicated with by the mobile device that isalso connected to the Internet. It is therefore possible for the controldevice and the mobile device to communicate with one another directlythrough a cellular or other wireless connection, or via a commonInternet connection either through the cellular or other wirelesscommunication or through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or other LAN or PANcommunications. The mobile device and the control device may communicatewith one another via text messages or other textual communications orthrough communications initiated by voice controlled applications suchas Siri or by any app on a phone.

The car (or any control device within the car) must be able to send andreceive commands from the mobile device over the communications link andbe able to respond to the commands and send information about its statusto the mobile device. For example, a car has to be able to receive thecommand “start the car” or that a key is present and cause the car tostart. The car also has to be able to notify the control device when itis shut off so that the control device can send a command that says “caris off” to the mobile device. Today, many vehicles are able to startwithout inserting a key into an ignition switch. The vehicle is able todetect the presence of the “key” and allow the car to start by pushing abutton on the car (typically using RFID), turning an ignition switch orpushing the brake (as in the case of a Tesla® electric car). If the keywere not present, no signal would be detected by the car and pushing thebutton or brake, or turning the ignition switch would not start thevehicle. The switch or button only turns the vehicle “on” if it detectsthat the key is present. In electric vehicles, the presence of the keyallows the electric motor that propels the car to operate. If the key isnot present, the electric motor does not operate even when theaccelerator pedal is depressed.

In an exemplary embodiment, the mobile device includes a computerprogram designed to run on mobile devices known as an App, which will bereferred to as SafeText or SecureText and which has four exemplarypurposes:

-   The first purpose of the App is to establish that the mobile device    is in the position of someone who is in the driver's seat. We    described this above as determining that an “A event” has occurred.    We also describe a number of ways in which this can be determined.-   Second when installed and when open, it determines that a “B    communications” has been disabled by the user of the mobile device.-   Third, the App provides the information about B communications    to (i) other apps or programs or functionality within the phone    and (ii) to devices outside the phone that request such information.    I.e. it provides information that are to be used by C functions and    D functions (as described above).-   The fourth purpose of the App is to allow other functionality to    decide not to engage (or not to be enabled) unless B communications    have been confirmed to be disabled. This “other functionality” as    described previously could be communications initiated by the car    (or other device), i.e. C functions, or functionality performed by    the mobile device itself, e.g. D functions.

In order to prohibit the use of texting (or other communications) theApp confirms that the mobile device is in the Driver's possession, andthat text/voice communications are disabled before it sends the commandto start the car to the car. Alternatively, if it is determined that themobile device is in the Driver's possession, then it allows the messageto be sent to start the car and then disables the communications abilityof the phone.

As long as the car is running, the mobile phone is in what is called“Car Mode” and is unable to send or receive texts—or alternatively itreceives the texts but does not notify the owner of the phone of themuntil the App allows this to happen which can only occur after the carhas informed the mobile device that it is off and Car Mode has beenturned off.

Once the car is turned off, the control device in the car sends a signalover e.g. the PAN link that it is off. This signal is received by themobile phone and the App recognizes it, turns off/disables Car Mode andrestores the ability to send/receive texts. At this time, the App alsopresents the mobile phone user with any texts or calls that may havebeen received while in Car Mode. Alternatively, the user of the mobiledevice can disable Car Mode by himself, at which point the app willchange the “B communications” status from “disabled” to “not disabled”(i.e. from the status that texting, etc., was disabled to the statusthat texting etc. is no longer disabled). Any subsequent communicationsinvolving the phone that request or require that B communications bedisabled will receive the “not disabled” message.

While the above embodiment described a communication link usingBluetooth between the mobile device and the car, any communications linksuch as RFID, cellular, Wi-Fi, any LAN or PAN some other proprietarytechnology that allows communications between devices can be used.

Another embodiment of the operation can be realized when the car has awireless key capability (i.e. a key that must be present for the car tostart—either by pushing a button in the car, or by turning a keylessignition switch) but is not equipped with the ability to send or receivemessages directly from a mobile device. In this case, the App describedabove can operate with the wireless key and only allow the wireless keyto function if the mobile device has disabled text/voice communicationsand the mobile device is determined to be in the Driver's possession.One way this can be realized is with a phone case into which thewireless key can be installed or to which the wireless key can be added.The phone case also contains the Driver's mobile device so that thewireless key and mobile device are co-located in the phone case. Morespecifically, this is depicted in FIG. 5. In order to open a car orallow an ignition button to engage and RFID signal is sent from a RFIDTx 403 embedded within case 401 or in an accessory 401 attached to amobile device 402. The RFID links sends an identifying code, i.e. a codethat is unique to the mobile device or the car or identifies the mobiledevice to the car. Before the RFID signal is enabled to be sent bycontroller 406, controller 406 confirms with NFC transceiver 404 whichis also embedded in case 401 that 404 has received a signal from NFCtransceiver 405 (within mobile device 402) indicating that textmessaging is disabled in mobile phone 402. This information is obtainedby transceiver 405 by accessing a memory location 407 also within phone402 which indicates the status of texting and of “B communications” asdescribed above in general. Controller/microprocessor 406 communicateswith both RFID transmitter 403 and NFC transceiver 404 via wiredinterfaces within the case. These are depicted as two way arrows as 408in FIG. 5. Link 409 between the NFC transceiver in the case and the NFCtransceiver in the phone is a wireless link typically at higherfrequencies and with less reach capabilities than link 413 used forRFID. Link 410 between the NFC transceiver in the phone and the memoryis wired or accessed via a software memory look up. The memory location407 contains a B communications disabled message only in the event thattexting (or other B communications) have been disabled. This is accessedby NFC transceiver 405 and communicated to NFC transceiver 404. Thecontroller 406 within the case registers this message and then enablestransmission of the RFID code by RFID transmitter 403. The RFID signalsent from 403 is received by RFID receiver 413 within a car or within adevice in a car. Upon receipt of this message, control device/car 415enables certain functions, such as opening the doors or allowing the carto be started with the ignition. If the RFID message is not received byreceiver 413, these functions are not enabled. This forces the phoneuser to disable texting in order to use the remote entry or remote startcapabilities in the car. The 411 communications link between the RFIDtransmitter 403 and RFID receiver 413 is a wireless link at frequenciestypically used by RFID (in the KHz and MHz ranges). Other communicationslinks also exist between transceivers in the control device 415 andtransceivers in the phone 402. These are depicted as 412 and arewireless links that connect for example cellular transceivers, or Wi-Fitransceivers or NFC transceivers. Note that the description above canalso be extended to the case where the RFID transmitter is in the carand the RFID receiver is in the case. In this case, the controllerenables the RFID receiver in the case to receive only if a textingdisabled message is communicated from the phone to the case through the409 NFC link.

Important Modes of Operation of Car Mode Receive but not Display Textsor Calls

In one embodiment, an exemplary operation is for the mobile phone toreceive any text or call while in Car Mode but to not notify the useruntil the mobile device is out of Car Mode (which can only happen if thecar has notified the phone that it is OFF). These messages or phonecalls are thus stored in the phone but no signal notifying theirexistence or other indication is provided to the user until Car Mode isOff. While in Car Mode, no text can be sent by the user. Any attempt toaccess the text message App is disabled through any of a number of meansincluding, not allowing the message app to open, not allowing thekeyboard to type, not allowing Siri (or any other voice activatedtechnology) access the messages App, etc. Texts coming in get put in atext bank and will be received by the user after car is off yes. If thishappens, the phone sends an automatic message as mentioned earlier thatsays something along the lines of “im driving . . . won't receive thistext till later . . . im not ignoring you.”.

Allow Limited Access to Voice Calls

In another embodiment, the Car Mode App allows the phone to place orreceive voice calls (but not texts) from a limited number of identifiedphone numbers. For example one could designate that voice call only fromone's parent or emergency contact could be allowed. In this case a callonly from that designated number would be indicated as incoming to theuser and the user could answer the call. Also, in this case the usercould place a call to such numbers even when in Car Mode. 911 (or otherlocal emergency contact numbers) would be included in this list. Thiswould mean that if there were an accident, for example, and for whateverreason the mobile phone cannot be instructed to exit Car Mode by thecar, then a call could still be placed to 911. In a preferredembodiment, when in Car Mode, if the user opens tries to access text orvoice calls the SafeText App opens and a screen showing the allowednumbers is displayed (e.g. parent, emergency contact, 911, etc). Thesenumbers can only be used to place a voice call. Included in this wouldbe the ability to add or delete people on the list dynamically—one dayA, B, C, D and E are allowed to be called, and the next D is replacedwith N.

Any Vehicle

While this has been described with a car in mind, any vehicle can beassumed including boats, trucks, trains, airplanes, recreationalvehicles, etc., the first target audience was public transportation suchas buses and taxis. Public transportation such as buses, trains andtaxis are examples of vehicles for which the App and control devicewould provide the benefit of public safety. This could be advertised onthe bus as a safety feature as in “we use SafeText so our bus driversdon't even have phone access.” Another likely use of the App is forparents to require their teenage and unexperienced children drivers touse the App, again as a matter of public safety but also for their ownsafety.

Determining that the Driver has Possession of the Mobile Device

One of the optional elements of this invention is that a determinationmust be made that the mobile device is in the Driver's possession. In apreferred embodiment, the signal strength of a known signal (e.g.,Bluetooth®) that was sent from the vehicle is measured at the mobiledevice. As long as the strength of the signal is above a certain value,it is determined the mobile device is in a location consistent with thatof a driver. In another embodiment, the distance between the mobiledevice and a known location in the car (the Point) is determined by GPSor other position location technology. In another embodiment, a signalis transmitted from the mobile device towards the Point and the echofrom the transmission is used to determine the distance to the Point.After Car Mode is on, the mobile device remains in Car Mode until thecar notifies that it is Off. The mobile device does not need to be inthe location of the Driver for this signal to be received. In noinstance can Car Mode be disabled if the vehicle is in motion. Inanother example, an RFID signal is transmitted by the phone (or by acase containing the phone) that can only be received when the phone orcase are close to the RFID receiver in the car.

Other Devices in the Vehicle

The Device in the possession of the Driver must be in Car Mode whiledriving, but other mobile devices in the vehicle have no limitations ontheir abilities to send or receive texts or voice calls. This way,passengers in the car can still use their mobile devices.

Messages Received while in Car Mode

Text or voice messages received while in Car Mode are displayed to themobile device user only after the mobile device has exited Car Mode(except for voice calls from designated numbers as described above).Messages sent to the Driver's mobile device will be responded toautomatically by the mobile device with a message saying that the useris driving and will receive the text later when no longer driving. Voicecalls will automatically go to a voice message that says that the useris driving and will receive notice of the call when no longer driving.

For purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present embodiments. It shouldbe appreciated however that the techniques herein may be practiced in avariety of ways beyond the specific details set forth herein.

Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein show thevarious components of the system collocated, it is to be appreciatedthat the various components of the system can be located at distantportions of a distributed network, such as a communications networkand/or the Internet, or within a dedicated secure, unsecured and/orencrypted system. Thus, it should be appreciated that the components ofthe system can be combined into one or more devices, such as an accesspoint or station, or collocated on a particular node/element(s) of adistributed network, such as a telecommunications network. As will beappreciated from the following description, and for reasons ofcomputational efficiency, the components of the system can be arrangedat any location within a distributed network without affecting theoperation of the system. For example, the various components can belocated in a transceiver, an access point, a station, a managementdevice, or some combination thereof. Similarly, one or more functionalportions of the system could be distributed between a transceiver, suchas an access point(s) or station(s) and an associated computing device.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links, includingcommunications channel(s), connecting the elements (which may not be notshown) can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, orany other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data and/or signals to and from theconnected elements. The term module as used herein can refer to anyknown or later developed hardware, software, firmware, or combinationthereof that is capable of performing the functionality associated withthat element. The terms determine, calculate and compute, and variationsthereof, as used herein are used interchangeably and include any type ofmethodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

While the above-described flowcharts have been discussed in relation toa particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changesto this sequence can occur without materially effecting the operation ofthe embodiment(s). Additionally, the exact sequence of events need notoccur as set forth in the exemplary embodiments, but rather the stepscan be performed by one or the other transceiver in the communicationsystem provided both transceivers are aware of the technique being usedfor initialization. Additionally, the exemplary techniques illustratedherein are not limited to the specifically illustrated embodiments butcan also be utilized with the other exemplary embodiments and eachdescribed feature is individually and separately claimable.

The above-described system can be implemented on a wirelesstelecommunications device(s)/system, such an IEEE 802.11 transceiver, orthe like. Examples of wireless protocols that can be used with thistechnology include IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11af, IEEE 802.11ah,IEEE 802.11ai, IEEE 802.11aj, IEEE 802.11aq, IEEE 802.11ax, IEEE802.11p, WiFi, LTE, LTE direct, 4G, Bluetooth®, WirelessHD, WiGig, WiGi,3GPP, Wireless LAN, WiMAX, RFID and the like.

The term transceiver as used herein can refer to any device thatcomprises hardware, software, circuitry, firmware, or any combinationthereof and is capable of performing any of the methods, techniquesand/or algorithms described herein.

Additionally, the systems, methods and protocols can be implemented toimprove one or more of a special purpose computer, a programmedmicroprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuitelement(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signalprocessor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discreteelement circuit, a programmable logic device such as PLD, PLA, FPGA,PAL, a modem, a transmitter/receiver, any comparable means, or the like.In general, any device capable of implementing a state machine that isin turn capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein canbenefit from the various communication methods, protocols and techniquesaccording to the disclosure provided herein.

Examples of the processors as described herein may include, but are notlimited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm®Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing,Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motioncoprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors,ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, Broadcom® AirForceBCM4704/BCM4703 wireless networking processors, the AR7100 WirelessNetwork Processing Unit, other industry-equivalent processors, and mayperform computational functions using any known or future-developedstandard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture.

Furthermore, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented insoftware using object or object-oriented software developmentenvironments that provide portable source code that can be used on avariety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, thedisclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware usingstandard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware isused to implement the systems in accordance with the embodiments isdependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, theparticular function, and the particular software or hardware systems ormicroprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized. Thecommunication systems, methods and protocols illustrated herein can bereadily implemented in hardware and/or software using any known or laterdeveloped systems or structures, devices and/or software by those ofordinary skill in the applicable art from the functional descriptionprovided herein and with a general basic knowledge of the computer andtelecommunications arts.

Moreover, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in softwareand/or firmware that can be stored on a storage medium to improve theperformance of: a programmed general-purpose computer with thecooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, amicroprocessor, or the like. In these instances, the systems and methodscan be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as anapplet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated communicationsystem or system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system, such as the hardware and softwaresystems of a communications transceiver.

It is therefore apparent that there has at least been provided systemsand methods for improving safety. While the embodiments have beendescribed in conjunction with a number of embodiments, it is evidentthat many alternatives, modifications and variations would be or areapparent to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. Accordingly,this disclosure is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications, equivalents and variations that are within the spirit andscope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, within a communications device in acontrol device, comprising: detecting a wireless signal from a mobiledevice; initiating a communications link with a handshake with themobile device to determine the status of text communications within themobile device; and receiving a message from the mobile device thatprovides the status of texting within the mobile device.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the control device is a car or a device within acar.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications link is basedupon one or more of the following: WiFi, NFC or Bluetooth.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the handshake includes a transmitting a messagerequesting status.
 5. A communication system comprising a control deviceoperation to perform: transmitting a status request message over awireless communications link from the control device to a mobile deviceto determine the status of texting within the mobile device; receiving astatus message, in response to the status request message, from themobile device; and interpreting the received message to determine thestatus of texting within the mobile device.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the control device is a car or a device within a car.
 7. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the communication link is based upon one ormore of the following: WiFi, NFC or Bluetooth.
 8. An apparatus within acar comprising: detection circuitry to determine the presence of awireless signal; transmission circuitry that transmits a messagerequesting a status to the source of the wireless signal; and receptioncircuitry that receives a status message from the source of the wirelesssignal that indicates that texting is disabled.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the detection circuitry measures at least one of: thestrength of a radio signal, the frequency of a radio signal, thebandwidth of a radio signal, the peak-to-average ratio of a radiosignal.
 10. A system for communicating between a controlling device anda control device comprising: a first transceiver capable of sending anidentifying code; a second transceiver capable of receiving a messageindicating that texting is disabled from a third transceiver; acontroller that enables the first transceiver to send the identifyingcode; wherein said controller enables the first transceiver upon receiptof said message by the second transceiver; and wherein the first andsecond transceivers use different frequencies and the second and thirdtransceivers use the same frequencies.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the first transceiver is an RFID wireless transceiver.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the second and third transceivers are NFCtransceivers.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the identifying codeis unique to one of: a mobile device or a car.